Urgence Bois-francs

What Urgence Bois-francs does

Urgence Bois-Francs Inc. is a Quebec-registered worker cooperative that provides prehospital emergency medical services across the MRC d'Arthabaska territory in central Quebec, Canada. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Victoriaville, the organization operates as the exclusive 911 ambulance responder for 22 municipalities serving a population of more than 72,000 residents across nearly 2,000 km². The cooperative is 92% owned by its workers through the CAPUBF cooperative (Cooperative actionnaire des paramedics d'Urgence Bois-Francs), with more than 40 paramedics averaging 13 years of seniority plus a 5-person administrative team.

The company's core offering is emergency ambulance response and patient transport to hospitals, supported by a fleet of 5 vehicles operating from 2 fire stations and handling 6,000 to 8,000 calls annually. All transport activity is documented as prehospital intervention reports archived at Hopital de Victoriaville (CIUSSS MCQ). A secondary revenue and capability line is the FORMATIONSUBF.COOP training sub-brand, where all instructors are accredited by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada to deliver standardized emergency response and CPR training. Supporting services include billing and payment processing accepting credit card (by phone), Interac e-transfer, check, cash, debit card, and Caisse Populaire Desjardins payments.

The business model is government-regulated and revenue is split between two streams: (1) transaction-based fee-for-service ambulance transport for Canadian residents under 65 at a $125 CAD base rate plus $1.75/km (and $400 CAD base for non-Canadian residents), and (2) recurring government-covered transport for eligible populations including Quebec Ministry of Health (65+ seniors), SAAQ (road accidents), CNESST (workplace accidents), Employment-Quebec (social assistance), Canadian Armed Forces, Veterans Affairs, RCMP, and registered Indigenous/Inuit persons. Go-to-market is exclusively through the 911 emergency dispatch system; marketing is limited to a Facebook page, customer satisfaction surveys, and published testimonials.

Name

Urgence Bois-francs

Legal name

Urgence Bois-Francs Inc.

Website

https://ubf.coop

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Emergency Medical Services

NAICS

Ambulance Services (621910)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) & Ambulance Services (BPAIAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Private EMS Providers (Contract/Interfacility) (HLAFANAB)

Keywords

• Emergency medical services
• Ambulance transport
• Prehospital care
• Paramedic services
• First aid training

Headquarters

HQ city

Victoriaville

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Fee-for-service ambulance transport: Ambulance transport fees charged to patients under 65 years. Canadian residents pay base rate of $125 plus $1.75/km. Non-Canadian residents pay $400 base rate plus $1.75/km. Additional $35 per extra person.
2. Government-funded transport: Transport costs covered by government programs for eligible groups: Quebec Ministry of Health (65+ seniors), SAAQ (road accident victims), CNESST (workplace accidents), Employment-Québec (social assistance recipients), Canadian Armed Forces, Veterans Affairs, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and registered Indigenous/Inuit persons.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Urgence Bois-francs delivers prehospital emergency ambulance services — 911 dispatch response and patient transport to hospitals — across the 22 municipalities of the MRC d'Arthabaska territory in Quebec (population ~72,000). The cooperative also operates a first aid and CPR training arm (FORMATIONSUBF.COOP), with all instructors accredited by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and who are practicing paramedics.

Product overview

Urgence Bois-Francs is a cooperative paramedical services organization operating prehospital emergency services. The core offering is emergency ambulance response to 911 calls across MRC d'Arthabaska. Supporting services include training programs for paramedics (formationsubf.coop), customer billing and payment processing, and government-subsidy-based ambulance pricing. The organization operates with a fleet of 5 vehicles across 2 stations, responding to 6,000-8,000 calls annually with 40+ cooperative member paramedics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Services préhospitaliers d'urgence (Prehospital Emergency Services) Emergency paramedical services responding to 911 calls across the MRC d'Arthabaska territory in Quebec, serving over 72,000 residents across 22 municipalities, with a fleet of 5 vehicles based at 2 fire stations and 40+ cooperative-member paramedics.
• Service de formation (First Aid / CPR Training Services) First aid and CPR training services for individuals and organizations, operated through formationsubf.coop, with all instructors accredited by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and who are practicing paramedics at Urgence Bois-Francs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 6,000 to 8,000 emergency calls responded to annually
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Fondation des maladies du cœur du Canada (Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAll trainers at Urgence Bois-Francs are accredited by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, providing standardized emergency response training including CPR certification.
• Hôpital de Victoriaville (CIUSSS MCQ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPatient records and intervention reports are maintained at hospital archives. Patients transported to hospital must request copies of prehospital intervention reports from the hospital where they were taken.
• Caisse Populaire DesjardinsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBill payment accepted at Desjardins institutions including in-person, ATMs, and Accès D online banking platform.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Ornge: Ornge is Ontario's provider of air ambulance and critical care transport, plus some land ambulance services. While air-focused, it is comparable in mission (regulated EMS delivery under government contract) and provides a benchmark for paramedic-scope EMS businesses in Canada.
• Canadian Red Cross: The Canadian Red Cross provides nationally accredited first aid and CPR training and emergency response support in Canada. It is a relevant peer for UBF's formationsubf.coop training vertical and for any humanitarian/emergency-response service line extension.
• Nova Scotia Emergency Health Services (EHS): Nova Scotia EHS is the provincial EMS operator covering a comparable regional population (~1 million) of Nova Scotia. It is comparable to UBF in scope (provincial/regional monopoly), call volume per capita, and reliance on public funding, though delivered as a public agency.

Direct peers

• Dessercom: Dessercom is one of Quebec's largest private EMS providers, operating ground ambulance and patient-transport services across multiple regions. It competes directly with Urgence Bois-Francs for paramedic talent, government ambulance contracts, and the same regulated Quebec pricing structure.
• Ambulance Médic (Groupe Médic): Ambulance Médic is a private Quebec-based EMS and patient-transport operator with ground ambulance services across multiple regions. It is a direct comparable to Urgence Bois-Francs in terms of regulated ambulance tariffs, 911 response, and interfacility transfers.

Regional players

• CIUSSS MCQ (Centre hospitalier de Victoriaville): The public health and social services center in Victoriaville is the receiving hospital for UBF's transports and a documented strategic partner for patient-record handoff. It functions as a key downstream partner and represents the integrated regional healthcare ecosystem UBF operates within.
• Ambulance de la Mauricie: A Mauricie-region private/cooperative ambulance operator providing ground EMS and patient transport across an adjacent Quebec region. It is comparable on geography, service mix, reliance on MSSS-regulated pricing, and rural-territory operating profile.
• Coopérative des paramédics du Centre-du-Québec: Adjacent worker-cooperative EMS organization operating in the Centre-du-Québec region neighboring MRC d'Arthabaska. It shares UBF's cooperative governance model, Quebec regulated pricing, and regional-territory service delivery approach.

Emerging players

• St. John Ambulance Quebec: St. John Ambulance Quebec delivers first aid and CPR training plus volunteer medical-event coverage across the province. It overlaps with UBF primarily in the Heart & Stroke-certified training vertical and in community first-aid responder positioning.

Others

• Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada: Heart & Stroke is the national accreditation body that licenses UBF's training instructors. It is an ecosystem partner and adjacent player relevant to UBF's training vertical rather than a direct EMS competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/urgenceboisfrancs/?locale=fr_CA

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Urgence Bois-francs